It was all so strange.

Mark Cunningham wasn’t the sort of guy who went on dates. He wasn’t hot or athletic or popular, he was just a geek. He wasn’t the sort of guy that girls noticed, or gave the time of day to, never mind went on dates with.

And yet here he was, at Darcy’s with one of the prettiest girls at school. After she asked him out.

He’d said yes, of course. How could he not? It wasn’t as though he’d get another chance anytime soon.

The doe was wearing a nice blue dress – not as glitzy as what she usually wore at school, but it did fit Darcy’s pretty well. Darcy’s was a family restaurant, not a formal place – Mark wouldn’t have been able to afford a meal for himself at one of those, never mind paying for his date’s meal, too – but it was still a bit nice.

Which meant Mark didn’t feel quite as out of place as he might have elsewhere. He’d gone with a dress shirt, slacks, and at the last minute had added a tie. Formal wear was comforting; it was sort of like a uniform – if it wasn’t the most fashionable thing ever, well, that wasn’t just because of his own utterly absent fashion sense. It was proper. And even if no amount of formal wear would make him look in shape and attractive, well, at least he thought it helped cover up some of his out-of-shape-ness.

Enough people came here from their office jobs that, despite his youth, the red panda didn’t look all that odd. But that couldn’t keep him from feeling awkward. He’d figured right off the bat that no matter how engrossed he could get in making a computer do what he wanted it to, not just what someone else had told it, Karen Harrison wouldn’t share his enthusiasm, but he didn’t know what she was into. Any extracurricular things she got up to didn’t overlap with the ones he did, nor was she in any of his classes.

They hadn’t really had much to talk about while they were looking over the menu. He’d opted for a bowl of minestrone and some fish and chips, and tried not to wince when she went for the seafood linguine. Oh, well; his allowance would stretch that far for one date. It wasn’t like she was getting lobster – and he couldn’t deny that seafood did taste good.

He tried to make small-talk, but that wasn’t something he was really used to doing. When he talked with his classmates or his friends, they knew at least some interests in common already. School seemed like a safe bet – but after a few queries about what she planned to do after she graduated were met by dull one-word answers, he gave up and turned his attention to his soup.

That gave him enough time to work up his nerve to ask what was on her mind, and he was rather stunned when she looked up at him, smiled, and said, “You.”

He took a deep breath. No, no, he couldn’t have heard that right, that wasn’t the sort of thing that happened to guys like him – “W-what do you mean?” he asked, and cursed himself for stammering.

Karen stirred the ice around in her glass of water. “Oh, you’re just being really sweet about all of this. I can see you’re trying really trying.” She lifted the glass up. “Maybe it’ll be easier after dinner, when we can get a little more… comfortable.”

The look in her eyes just wasn’t the sort of look he was used to having sent his way. He swallowed, feeling his ears flatten back. “I, uh… n-n-never really had t-t-to think a-a-about that.” He bit his lip and gulped down some iced tea. Damn it…

“Oh, don’t worry,” she purred – there was no other way to describe that sound. Under the table, her foot nudged under the cuff of his slacks and against his ankle. “I have. I’m sure everything will be fine, just relax,” the deer went on in a more conversational tone.

Right. Relax. He took a deep breath. It wasn’t easy to relax when that moment of contact had electrified him; it was hard enough to keep his banded tail from lashing, never mind make it or the rest of him relax.

It was kind of hard to concentrate on his meal after that – which was a shame, because it was good fish. But that was kind of a big thing, wasn’t it? He wasn’t quite clueless enough to miss that she was implying, well, sex. And even if he hadn’t thought there’d be anything more to the night than watching a movie or maybe playing a few games of some sort, it wasn’t that he had any real reason not to do more.

Besides, if he said no now, he might not get another chance for years.

And that sort of led into the problem. He hadn’t had a chance before. He knew something about what went where, but only on the vaguest of terms. What if he screwed up?

It was almost a relief when it came time to pay the bill. It was a bigger dent in his bank account than he really liked, but not enough to break him; maybe next time, he could suggest a place that was a little more, well, low-key.

Outside, she asked if he could come over to her place for a while, since her folks were out until the next day. Glad to have an option to investigate those things she’d been hinting at, he could hardly agree fast enough, though he did have the presence of mind to say that he should get home before the buses stopped running, and to send his mom a text message that he’d be hanging out with her for a while. He barely even read the encouraging response he got back, just tucked his phone away and followed her.

It was easy to see why she’d chosen Darcy’s as the place for dinner; her house was just a few blocks away, and on a pleasant springtime afternoon like this one, the walk was actually kind of nice. The house was nice, too, though he didn’t really pay enough attention to compare it to his folks’ house.

Especially not once the door was locked and she’d swung an arm around him, pressing her mouth against his.

He tensed at first – how could he not? He hadn’t exactly come to expect pretty girls kissing him. But after that first moment, some of his tension melted away again. He let his hands come up to her shoulders, sliding down along her arms, her fur soft and smooth under his fingers. Her hands, meanwhile, were a little more aggressive – one of them seizing his tie, right near his collar, keeping his head down against hers as though he needed encouragement; the other…

The other pressed against his thigh, then slid inward, stroking along the soft ridge in his slacks. He shivered, letting a soft whimper slip from his mouth to hers.

By the time their mouths parted, a soft sigh washing over his jaw, that ridge wasn’t nearly so soft. Even loose slacks wouldn’t have hid it anymore, and realizing that made his ears flush, made him want to curl up and bring his tail around to hide it; but she ran a fingertip along it with a soft, approving noise.

“God. You’re big,” she crooned, fingering the head of his cock, rubbing over it, pressing it against his thigh. “How about you come upstairs, so I can get a closer look?”

Every part of him was screaming yes. It was hard to keep himself from running after her like an eager puppy; there was no way he was going to refuse. He followed, trying to ignore the shifting of fur on the one side, cloth on the other, against his straining cock.

She led him into a bedroom, and then she seized his tie again, pulling him into another kiss, her tongue dabbing at his lips. Once he’d got the idea and was kissing her back, she let her fingers slide down his tie and let go, turning their attention to the laces of her dress; following that cue, he set to work loosening his belt, working his pants open. She stopped him with a touch to his wrist when his fingers were just about to grip his zipper. “Let me,” she whispered over his cheek.

Biting his lip, he let his hands fall to his sides and nodded.

She didn’t keep him waiting long, at least; she slid her hands behind his ass, undoing the button over his tail, then brought them around front to finish with his fly. By the time she slid his slacks down past his knees, the head of his cock was already pushing out of the left leg of his boxers.

“Wow,” Karen breathed, stroking along the ridge in the thin cotton, giving a whisper-light caress to his bare flesh. As she pulled his slacks down further, she said, “You’re not just big, you’re huge.”

He didn’t know what to say to that. Back when he’d still needed to take gym, he’d got a few odd looks in the showers, and when he’d confessed to one of the boys that he felt out of place for being overweight, that boy had gently pointed out that no, that wasn’t what was drawing those looks. But it had just made him feel more awkward to know that that was why. It wasn’t as though having a big cock had ever been anything but a nuisance to him before.

Now, though, Karen certainly seemed to like it.

She peeled his boxers down, and he couldn’t quite keep back a groan of relief as the slate-grey fabric drew low enough to let his cock swing upward at last. With an odd mix of self-conscious anxiety and eagerness sending shivers through him, he curled his hands under it, gathering it in close against the thick black fur on his front, and there he stood, moving only to step out of his slacks and shorts, while Karen shed her dress. Blue gave way to light-dappled brown on her back and sides, and lush, pure white all along her front, broken only by black lace cupping her breasts and down below. Black lace with hints of deep crimson giving it a wonderfully rich appearance.

Black lace that wasn’t in the way for very long.

He tugged his tie loose and fumbled with his shirt buttons as she stripped down, and didn’t have even half of them loose by the time she was done. Smiling, she touched his wrist again, and again he stopped and let her take over, undoing buttons much more deftly. Then, even as she pushed his shirt back over his shoulders, she set her mouth against his again, leaning right in against him, his cock pressed between her stomach and hers, the warm softness of her breasts against his chest.

One niggling thought pestered him as the kiss parted, and he licked his lips. “Should I, uh… cover up?” Oh, God, he didn’t even have a condom with him, it wasn’t like he’d ever expected this…

She blinked, and laughed softly over his jaw. “I don’t think I’ve got any that I’d trust to stay on you. But I’m on the pill. Don’t worry about it, this once.”

In a daze, he nodded, and submitted to her touch as she guided him toward the bed, got him stretched out on it. And then…

And then she curled a hand around the base of his cock and dipped her head between his thighs, and she started licking his balls. Licking, nuzzling, sucking on them… He shivered, his head sinking back against the pale blue sheets, jaws parting and letting free a breathy moan.

From there she worked higher, kissing and licking his cock, stroking over newly-slicked pink flesh. She wasn’t exactly drawing it out, not really, but she was taking her time and there was a lot to cover; he was panting hard and clutching at the sheets by the time she mouthed over his glans.

Her head bobbed up and down a few times, the head of his cock sliding into the wet warmth of her mouth and out, her tongue rubbing it here and there, stroking over its crown. Then she lifted up and off, chuckling softly. “You’re enormous,” she murmured, pressing one thumb against the base of his cock, just over his balls, and splaying her hand out. Her little finger touched the underside of his shaft, halfway up or a little longer; bringing her other hand in got her fingertip just under his glans. “I think I’m gonna run out of words.”

He bit his lip. “It’s not… not a problem, is it?” No matter how little practical experience he had, some part of him was aware that it had to fit somewhere.

“Oh, no. Not a problem,” she said, sliding up atop him, the caress of her fur over his cock taking his breath away. “Not a problem at all, big guy. Just let me…”

He was shaking so hard he almost expected to hear his teeth clattering. This was it. He was actually going to not be a virgin anymore. In just a few moments, she would…

There was no way she didn’t notice his anxiety, but she was kind enough not to comment on it. She just kept sliding forward until his cock slid down between her thighs, feet planted between his legs, on either side of his tail. Then, with one hand up over his shoulder, she slid the other downward, cradling his cockhead, guiding it as she eased back.

Warm, bare flesh met his glans, parted around it, enfolded it in moist heat. He clenched his jaws against a cry, limiting it to a heavy whimper, as she rocked against him, stroking back and forth over the most sensitive handful of flesh on his body. And with each stroke, she pushed a little lower.

The doe dipped her head in to nip at the side of his neck. As he was gasping, arching up under the touch, she hissed, “God, I’m gonna be feeling this in the morning. You’re thick, too, panda. This is,” she gasped softly, shivering atop him, then sighed out, “amazing.”

Mark thought he ought to say something, but what could he? He didn’t have anything else to compare this to. His head was pounding – not with anything even remotely similar to pain, but just with the heavy rhythm of his heart.

Her hips pressed down against his – not right down, not meeting his exactly; there was still a third or so of his cock out in the open. But she was low enough to get her knees beside his tail, low enough to stretch out atop him and seal her mouth against his.

He kind of lost track of things for the next few minutes. But he did feel the haze of bliss buoying him a little higher, and he did manage to detach his mouth from hers, gasping out, “I -”

“C’mon,” she hissed, cutting him off with a nip to his jaw, pushing down just a little further onto him, shivering atop him and under his roaming hands. “That’s it – come on…”

Even as she was speaking, a sudden rush swept through him. He squeezed his eyes closed, flattened his ears back, and shut away everything but the surge of pleasure, his spunk pumping out of him not to splatter over his dark fur, but right into her warm, welcoming body.

The numbing haze of afterglow was so much more pleasant when there was someone against him as he felt it, he soon found. Even when she’d pulled off of his cock and slid over to nestle beside him, her fingers dancing along his side, over his hip… he shivered when they brushed over his balls, but it wasn’t a bad feeling, just more intense than he was used to.

He’d just started to draw a deep breath, to think of some way to break the silence, when a telephone rang.

Karen’s ears perked up at the first ring. “That’s probably my folks,” she said, suddenly alert and practical. She swung a leg over and off the bed, rising up to her feet and grabbing a robe from the closet. “I’d better get that,” she called over her shoulder.

He gave his head a shake, still feeling a little… “dizzy” wasn’t quite the right word. Overwhelmed, maybe. Three days ago he’d have thought he’d go all the way through college without getting a girlfriend. Now… well. Maybe he could count this as a week-belated birthday present.

It sure beat a new coat, and that was knowing he’d be glad for that coat come winter.

“That was my mom,” Karen confirmed as she strode back into the bedroom. “Guess my little sister’s not feeling well, so they’re coming home early.”

“Is she going to be all right?” Mark asked automatically.

“Hm? Oh, yeah, it’s just a tummy bug,” she replied. “She’ll probably tease the hell out of you if she sees you, though. Maybe we should call it a night?”

“It’s been great,” he replied, shuffling off the bed and standing up with a stretch. “I mean, I’d like to hang out some more, sure, but… if your sister wouldn’t let you, that’s okay. I mean, I’ll see you at school anyway, right?”

She laughed, giving a kiss to his nose and passing him his shirt. “You’re sweet.”

He dressed in a hurry, leaving his collar undone and his tie tucked into a pocket. She gave him one last peck on the cheek at the door, and then he was on his way, walking down the street toward the bus stop in a better mood than he’d known in a long time. A good enough mood that he could actually go into the drugstore on the way home and ask the pharmacist about condoms without stuttering into silence, and could pay for a box with a straight face. A good enough mood that his dad even commented on it, but he wasn’t about to go into detail with his parents. He just tried to keep his ears from going flat with embarrassment and said he’d had a good time.

To be honest, it was probably just as well that he hadn’t lingered longer. He had plenty of time to do his homework for the next two days and still check in with his friends afterwards. And when he crawled into bed, even if he was alone, it was so nice to imagine that he wasn’t. He was still feeling good the next morning when he got ready for school.

He stopped feeling quite so good when, at recess, he found Karen hanging off the arm of a big, muscular ram with polished horns and a football jersey. Especially when he heard her saying, “huge – sorry, hon, but you’re not even close – but no idea how to use it. Such a goddamn waste. And now he’s probably gonna be underfoot all the time, but I just had to be sure Harry wasn’t making it up -”

“Hold on,” the big guy said, focusing on Mark standing there across the hall.

Every head in the hallway turned toward him, in fact. He swallowed, dumbstruck and rooted to the spot, as the ram lumbered over to him.

“You,” the bigger youth growled. “If I catch you so much as looking at my girl again, I’m gonna pound your balls into mush, you got me?”

It was all so strange. He should have been terrified. Or maybe he should have spoken up to defend himself, if he wasn’t scared out of his wits. But instead, all he felt was numb.

He looked up at the ram, and, slowly, nodded. “I got you,” he said, softly but without so much as a quaver in his voice. And as soon as the ram stepped back, he turned away and just… walked down the hall, like nothing was wrong.

He was still numb when he got to his next class, and he was still numb when school let out. It was only on the way home that the weight of it all – of her unconcern, of her had-to-be-boyfriend’s scorn, of all those stares – really hit him.

His dad found him in his room at dinner-time, trying not to cry into his pillow and failing, trying with a little more success to keep it quiet. Dad didn’t pry, didn’t even say anything; he just pulled the chair over from Mark’s desk, sat beside his bed, and gave his shoulder a squeeze.

“It’s all right,” Dad said softly, a few minutes later, once Mark had quieted down a bit more. “Don’t let it get you down, Mark. It’ll hurt for a while, but it’ll get better. And it’s all worth it when you find the right person.”

Mark wasn’t really up to making a reply to that. None of that changed that he’d given his virginity to someone who’d taken it as a game. Who’d heard from someone that Mark had a big cock and hadn’t cared about him otherwise. Who’d already had a boyfriend.

Well, at least the world was back to normal. He really wasn’t the kind of guy who got pretty girls.

Damn it.